Z is for Zack and Miri Make A Porno

 And here we are... at Z!  I can't believe I've made it through all 26 letters.  And it wasn't even that hard (if you don't count the little bobble I had at X...)

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO

USA, 2008

Running Length: 101 minutes

Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Brandon Routh, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan

Director:  Kevin Smith

Screenplay: Kevin Smith

Cinematography: David Klein

When this film was released it caused quite a stir.  Some cinemas refused to advertise it because of the word ‘porno’ in the title; some cinemas refused to screen it, thinking it was an attempt to slide something smutty onto otherwise pristine screens.  Which is stupid, because despite the title, very little sex is ever shown on screen.

Zack and Miri are roommates and they’re broke.  After a video a friend makes of them goes viral in the Netherlands, they decide to try and make a little cash from their fifteen minutes of fame and make a porno flick.  If it’s successful, they might be able to did themselves out of the financial hole they’re in.  Or at least get the power turned back on.

They recruit a few friends to help them out, and get to work.  But before they can shoot anything, the pair have to get over the fact they’re actually going to have to have sex.  Up until now, their friendship has been purely platonic and they’re both nervous that sex will screw that up.  Although of course, coming from the pen of Kevin Smith, there are far more swear words used in the conveying of this sentiment.

In fact, this has to be one the most cuss-heavy films I’ve ever seen.  I doubt many sentences get through without at least one off color word.  Which isn’t something that bothers me, and frankly, anyone who would be bothered by it probably wouldn’t go to see a film with this title.  So it’s really not worth commenting on.  But there we are…

Kevin Smith is a great writer and, even harder, a great comedy writer.  This film sails along at a great pace, with laughs scattered liberally along the way.  Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen are affable leads and you find yourself really rooting for their plan to work out.  In most comedies, you’re lucky if half the jokes hit the mark, but in this one, the percentage is way higher.

Which is why the final third feels like something of a letdown.  It’s the part where the romantic part of the romantic comedy comes into play, and it doesn’t entirely work.  It’s nice that Zack and Miri realize that they’ve been in love all along, but it’s such a predictable ending that it almost feels like cheating.  But given how much riotous entertainment has come before it, we’ll forgive Mr. Smith.  This time.

Y is for You Will Be My Son

YOU WILL BE MY SON

France, 2011

Running Time: 102 minutes

Cast: Niels Arestrup, Lorant Deutsch, Patrick Chesnais, Anne Marvin, Nicolas Bridet

Director: Gilles Legrand

Screenplay: Gilles Legrand & Delphine Le Vigan

Cinematography:  Yves Angelo

The complex relationships between fathers and sons have been explored on screen since the dawn of cinema.  Here the family drama plays out amidst the gorgeous backdrop of Bordeaux vineyards.

Paul is the successful vineyard owner, an imposing man whose life is dedicated to producing the perfect wine.  So when Francois, the long-serving estate manager falls ill, Paul needs to find an able successor.

Martin, Paul’s son, steps up, wanting the position and to finally gain his father’s approval and respect.  But Paul refuses to even consider him.  He has no confidence in Martin’s abilities and dislikes him for his perceived failings.  He calls in Francois’ son, Phillippe, a winemaker who has been working in California and offers him the job.  He even offers to adopt him.

And so the stage is set for a battle between fathers and sons, each with their own goals for the vineyard, their lives, and the wine they make.

Niels Arestrup is revelatory as the estate owner.  A character this mean could easily descend into caricature, but Arestrup is too good an actor to fall into that trap.  His Paul is a complex creation whose motivations, even when we disagree with his actions, are clear.

The scenery is glorious and the script so well researched that the daily running of the estate oozes veracity.  And it is this attention to detail that sets this film a step above other films that have explored similar subject matter.

I found myself profoundly moved by this film.  So much that it hung over me for several hours after leaving it.  It’s a film that opens the mind to many questions about loyalty, family and the boundaries between them, especially when a business is involved – a business that provides the family’s livelihood.  

X is for X-Men

Yes.  X is for X-Men.  But I haven't seen X-Men.  So I can't write a review of it.

I struggled for an X movie.  I thought about doing Malcolm X, but it felt like cheating.  So did choosing something like The Exorcist.  They have Xs in them, but they don't actually begin with X.

I know I showed a Brazilian film in a festival here two years ago that began with X, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was....

So I guess I've failed to live up to my promise of reviewing films from A - Z.  But I'm still posting something for all 26 days of the challenge and the alphabet, so I guess I'm still on track.

Can anyone think of a film starting with X that's not X-Men?

W is for Weekend

WEEKEND

UK, 2011

Running Length: 97 minutes

Cast: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Laura Freeman, Vauxhall Jermaine

Director:  Andrew Haigh

Screenplay: Andrew Haigh

Cinematography: Urzula Pontikos

Weekend is a rare thing: a movie romance that feels like a real life romance, with all the awkwardness and weirdness left intact.  Russell is out, but doesn’t like to talk about it with his largely straight friends.  After an evening with them, he heads to a club and eventually goes home with the object of his desire.

The morning after could have played out the same way most of these awkward one night stand mornings do, but when Glen whips out a voice recorder, and asks Russell to recount the evening in his own words, things skew into new territory.  Ostensibly an art project, the dialogue kick starts a long, free form conversation that grows increasingly intimate as the pair exchanger personal information, come-ons and ideas.

When Glen announces he’s moving to the US the next day, it creates an urgency as the pair struggle to fit an entire relationship into a weekend.

A little like Before Sunrise, this film manages to capture the organic nature of love developing, and the place sex has within that development.  The characters are well drawn and flawlessly performed by the two leads.  Both men are presented as flawed individuals with boundaries they will not cross.  Things get interesting as they get close to these self-imposed limits, and how each deals with them, is a joy to behold.

V is for Viva Riva!

VIVA RIVA

Democratic Republic of The Congo, 2010

Running Length: 98 minutes

Cast: Patsha Bay,  Manie Malone, Diplome Amekindra

Director:  Djo Munga

Screenplay: Djo Munga

Cinematography: Antoine Roch

On the surface, this is a familiar story: an entrepreneur in a corrupt country manages to gain control of something everybody wants and finds himself running for his life.  One cannot picture a more corrupt landscape than The Congo and the country becomes a character in its own right in this film.

Riva is a small-time crook.  He manages to steal a truckload of gas from Angola and brings it to Kinshasa to sell.  With gas in short supply, he decides to hold out until the city’s reserves are drained completely so he can sell his for the highest possible price.  Of course, the man who he stole the gas from isn’t going to sit back and watch his money drain into someone else’s pocket.  Also on Riva’s tail is the gangster who controls Kinshasa.  When Riva becomes infatuated with a gorgeous red-haired woman, it comes as no surprise she is this gangster’s moll.

Yes, these characters are stereotypes.  Interestingly, Riva isn’t.  Rather than being a savvy schemer, he’s a roguish fun-lover whose greatest asset is a bottomless well of luck.  He manages on several occasions to elude pursuers by leaving a room fractions of a second before they arrive.  Some moments come across as being almost slapstick in their careful orchestration, but these breaths of fresh air are needed to cut through the sadistic violence and brutal sex that characterizes much of the film.

This is a violent film.  Very violent.  And when the violence is against women, it is almost too hideous to watch.  But The Congo has the highest incidence of rape in any country in the world, so I have to assume that this depiction is an accurate reflection of the society.  And it's horrific.

Brutal, fast paced and often discomforting, this film is not without its flaws, but it manages to be a thrilling ride nonetheless.  Picture a film by Tony Scott, set in the Congo.  This is that film.

U is for Up The Yangtzee

UP THE YANGTZEE

Canada 2007

Running Length: 100 minutes

Cast: Cindy Yu Shui, Jerry Chen Bo Yu

Director:  Yung Chang

Cinematography: Wang Shi Qing

One of the undisputed and deserved hits of the recent International Film Festival, Up The Yangtzee is an outstanding documentary observing life on the soon-to-be flooded banks of the Yangtzee River.  With the landscape about to be changed dramatically by the biggest hydroelectric dam in history, we join a group of people on a farewell cruise down the river and meet some of the two million people who will be most affected by the floods.  Relocation is not always assisted and many people are being forced to fend for themselves after corrupt officials pocket money meant to help them.

On board the boat we meet two of the crew, young Chinese who have been given American names and taught to please foreigners.  “Cindy” tries her hardest, but middle-class “Jerry” needs to be reminded that conformity is considered a virtue in China.  These cruise ships offer work and opportunities to many young Chinese and there is nothing to take their place once the dam is built.

Side trips into the cities give another perspective on Chinese life.  One shopkeeper weeps for his country where just being an ordinary person has become too difficult amidst corrupt bureaucracy and relentless progress.  Director Yung Chang lets the subjects speak for themselves and avoids unnecessary commentary.  He is showing us something we have not seen before in an insightful and meaningful way.

T is for Toy Story 3

TOY STORY 3

USA, 2010

Running Length: 103 minutes

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles. John Ratzenberger

Director:  Lee Unkrich

Screenplay: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton

This is quite possibly the best film of the year.  And yes, I know how that sounds.  Toy Story 3 takes place many years after we left our toy heroes at the end of Toy Story 2.  Andy, their owner, is grown up now, about to leave for college. The toys have been in the toy box for years without being played with.  Now that Andy is leaving, the best they can hope for is being stored in the attic until Andy has kids of his own.  The worst: being thrown out.

A third possibility doesn’t cross their mind, but is the one that comes to pass.  The toys are donated to a daycare center.  To begin with, this seems an idyllic place, the perfect new home for toys that have been neglected for years.  The daycare toys are led by a benevolent bear called Lotso, and in this haven, Barbie meets Ken for the first time and sparks fly.

But all is not as it seems in the daycare center.  Lotso turns out to be a ruthless tyrant who banishes new toys to the indignities of the toddler room.  Once again, our fearless heroes must find a way to escape and get back to Andy’s house. The adventures they have on the way are often hair-raising and with Lotso in pursuit, threats face them at every turn.

Touching, exciting and utterly truthful, this is the perfect culmination to a trilogy.  I had tears in my eyes on several occasions, and it is testament to both the animation and the voice talent that we are so emotionally engaged by these characters.  It is not just a film for kids.  Adults will enjoy it as much, if not more, than the children it is targeted at.

Don’t miss it.